Remember when Speedy Williams had those match ropings? My wife Peggy and I were in one together and it came down to one of the last matches. We literally had to be 5 to beat the other team, and she was laughing, saying, “I’ve never been 5 in my life.”
Joel was only a teenager then, but he sat on the edge of the box and told her, “Mom, you can do this. Just take the same start and ride hard and rope right when you get there and get his head fast and Dad will do the rest.”
It was so funny to watch her listen to Joel and his positive affirmation. Instead of letting those words “I have never…” and “I can’t…” affect her, she just rode in there, got her same start, rode her horse hard and roped when she got there. We were 5.69 or something to win the match. She was just smiling from ear to ear. Now she could say she’d been 5.
Honestly, how many times had she ever tried to be 5? But with her son telling her “you can do this” and “here’s what you have to do,” it was cool to see her conquer that. How many of you are in the same category?
Maybe at a four-head roping you were good on two but your header broke out or your heeler roped a leg. Now on the third one you have a chance to make the short round, but you need a 6-second run. You’ll have to push the barrier and throw fast. Do you know how? You can practice these situations at home so you know what it takes.
I did a school one time and used a double eye system that tells you exactly how close you are to the barrier. I held two five-headers for my students to see how close they could get to the line. I had them act like they were going to head the steer, but then pull up. It wasn’t about roping the steer; we were focused on riding the barrier.
Honestly, they were everywhere from two feet late to breaking out by a good 12 inches. A three-foot variation in scoring is way too much! I explained how to relax and see the start, and take into account the reaction time of the horse and of their own hand, feet and body. Well, they worked on it and it was so fun to watch them improve. In no time at all they got to where they might only break it by four inches or be just 10 inches late. How many of you set up eyes and practice scoring at home?
Maybe you’d rather just stay off the barrier all day and try to win something with no penalties. But what if you make the short round and need to be within a few inches of that line to get a check?
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